DOCUMENTARY FILM NIGHT | BLUE HEART

29 November 2018, 630p-800p

World Affairs Auditorium 312 Sutter Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA

In the Balkans, 91% of the more than 3000 proposed dam projects involve small hydropower diversion dams. These dams reroute water, letting rivers run dry and causing irreversible damage to the watershed, wildlife and local communities. What’s more, nearly $870 million has been poured into dam construction in the Balkan region, with local governments garnering cash from these mammoth building projects, without actually delivering clean energy. The film “Blue Heart” documents these impacts and highlights efforts to stop dam construction.

Focusing on the largest undammed river in Europe—Albania’s Vjosa— “Blue Heart” tells the story of the battle to save the endangered Balkan lynx in Macedonia, and the women of Kruščica, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a lengthy protest to save the community’s only source of fresh water has been underway. The film follows some of the amazing activists fighting displacement by proposed hydropower projects, and explores what can be done to preserve the environment.

Following the screening, Britton Caillouette, filmmaker of “Blue Heart, and Matt Kondolf, Director of UC Berkeley’s River Lab, will talk about the ways that hydro dams affect the rivers, the environment, and the people who live nearby.

To sign the Blue Heart petition, visit https://blueheart.patagonia.com/take-action. To learn more about grassroots organizations and activists working to protect waterways and the environment in the Bay Area, visit Patagonia Action Works. The film is presented in partnership with  Patagonia.